Ukrainian citizen sentenced to community service for wearing St. George ribbon

The law on banning the use of St. George ribbons came into force on June 15

KIEV, July 25. /TASS/. A resident of Ukraine’s western central Vinnitsa region has been handed a month-long community service sentence for wearing the St. George Ribbon banned in Ukraine, the country’s Vesti publication reported on Tuesday.

"Four people have been penalized for wearing and promoting the St. George ribbon in the Zaporozhye and Dnepropetrovsk regions, with administrative protocols drawn up against them. Meanwhile, a court in the Vinnitsa region sentenced a violator to 30 days of community service," Vesti noted.

The law on banning the use of St. George ribbons came into force on June 15. Wearing it is punishable by a fine from 850 to 2,250 hryvnia (from $32 to $96) and the ribbon’s confiscation. A fine of up to 5,100 hryvnia ($192) or administrative arrest for up to 15 days can be imposed for ‘repeat offenders.’ This penalty, however, will not apply to WWII veterans whose awards include elements of that ribbon and museum expositions.

The first fine for wearing the St. George ribbon was imposed on a resident of the city of Dnepr (formerly Dnepropetrovsk) on Remembrance and Sorrow Day observed on June 22.